Saturday Night Live vet, actor and stand-up comic Kevin Nealon will be feelin' the flow and doin' the bull dance all the way to the Tampa Improv this Friday and Saturday. Whether you know him from Weekend Update, Weeds or his wry, deadpan stand-up, Nealon will help you "harness the energy" and "block the bad" and remember when Adam Sandler and SNL-spinoff movies were actually funny. Shows are 8 p.m. and 10:30 on Friday and 7:30 and 10 p.m. on Saturday. Before, you go, read this conversation with the star, and remember one thing: It's circular.
Kevin Nealon:Hey Kevin, it’s Kevin Nealon
CL: Hey, Kevin, how’s it going man?
Good, buddy, how are you?
I am not unwell. I’ve just got to know: Have you harnessed the energy and blocked the bad?
Right. Circular.
It is circular. And that’s actually the next thing I had written down, so, shit…
[Laughs]
Be honest: how annoying does that get when you’re doing interviews with some obnoxious reporter, or even walking down the street? Does it get old after a while?
Not really. It doesn’t happen that often.
Well at least you’re a good sport about it. So you’re coming to the Tampa Improv on tour. How often do you tour these days?
Quite often, quite extensively. I’m ubiquitous. I’m all over the country, you know? I do a gig almost every weekend, with a couple weekends off here or there.
A lot of people would most closely associate you with Weeds. Myself, I think Kevin Nealon and the best years of Saturday Night Live come to mind. And, of course, you’re also a stand-up comic. Of your varied professional efforts—acting, sketch comedy and stand-up — which is your favorite to do?
The nice thing for me is I get to do a lot of different stuff; I never get bored with one thing. But stand-up is really what I started out doing. It was my passion; it’s kind of my forte and the acting kind of came secondary. So stand-up is something I’ve never let go of. I would always do it, even during my SNL years and during the hiatus in the summers, Weeds, all through those periods. It’s kind of like what I identify with the most.
Surveying the late night lineup, we have several notable Weekend Update alums in Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, neither of which is as funny as you, locking down NBC. Does that kind of vehicle hold any interest for you?
You mean an interview type of show?
Yeah.
It does kind of. It hadn’t in previous years, but I think the landscape has changed a little bit in late night and it’s something that I might consider doing. One night a month I do a show in Los Angeles at a place called the Laugh Factory…
The Kevin Nealon Show.
What’s that?
It’s the Kevin Nealon Show. Isn’t it on Tuesdays
[Somewhat surprised tone] Yeah, Tuesday nights. And we have four comics up, they try 10 minutes of new material and I sit down with each one and jam with them and we try to come up with more material. It’s kind of fun watching that process.
During the early part of your time with SNL you did more writing, is that correct?
I was hired initially as a writer and a feature performer, which meant that I was guaranteed seven shows out of the 22. The second season I was a main cast member. It’s always interesting because no one really commits to me in the beginning. It was the same with Weeds; I was a guest star in the pilot. They didn’t hire me as a regular until the show got picked up.
Do you have any aspirations to hopping into the director’s chair to make movies like Adam’s [Sandler] done?
Well, I gotta tell you, I was just directing a short movie today, at my kid’s school; he’s in first grade and Sandler’s kids go to the same school. I had Sandler do a little part of the film I was directing, so I guess I could say I’ve already directed.
You guys got a little guest collaboration going on like Tarantino and Rodriguez. Wow.
[Laughs] Yeah, so it’s just a little film for the fundraiser, a little video.
Of course with a phenomenally huge budget, I’m sure. Since you identify more with stand-up, Louis C.K. says he flips his entire routine every year. As a stand-up, how often do you turn over material?
I never do the same act over; it’s always different for me. It takes me 24 hours to turn it over, a whole new hour.
[My turn for surprised tone] A different hour for every show? Wow. That’s impressive.
[Laughs] You know, it’s always evolving. It depends on how much you work on the road. Louis C.K. he performs a lot, probably every night in New York, so he’s got a pretty good outlet there. I don’t like leaving the house that much to go on the road, but I am going every weekend, so it’s slowly turning over. It probably takes about two years to get a really good new hour for me.
You don’t like leaving your house but you’re doing it every weekend; is that something your therapist suggested?
No, I like leaving the house but I don’t like going out of town because I have a 7-year-old and I want to see him grow up, you know?
Fair enough.
I say that, but then I get on the plane and see how nice it is for everything to be quiet; I could read a book or watch a movie and this actually isn’t that bad.
What’s this thing called “free time”?
Yeah.
Greg Behrendt said, on the topic of relationships, “You have a free Sunday? What’s that like?” I read your AMA on reddit and apparently there’s a big misconception; everyone thinks you smoke pot because of Weeds. Is there anything else you’d like to clear the air about?
I don’t smoke pot. It’s like, they probably think the actors on The Sopranos are all killers… Somebody once said they looked me up on Wikipedia and they said that my only downside was that I was a smoker. So that’s when I realized that Wikipedia wasn’t that accurate.
Speaking of the Internet, how has technology affected what you do? A lot of stand-ups have the accessibility of the Internet to thank for launching their careers. As someone who made it before the era of YouTube and Twitter, what do you think about how it’s shaped “modern comedy marketplace”? And please don’t tell anyone I said that phrase.
Well it certainly opens up a lot of avenues for comics to get their material out there. It used to be that no one could really see your stuff unless you got on TV. And now you can have your own YouTube channel or do anything on the Internet and also promote yourself a lot easier. So I think it kind of speeds everything up. I remember when I was growing up, I was playing the guitar, and I was always trying to learn these intricate guitar solos. I would pick up the needle off the record and try to put it back down in the right spot. That’s how old I am. But now if you want to learn how to play the guitar, you just go on YouTube and get any kind of lesson you want.
Talk to us about the projects you have in the works right now.
I have two films coming out. One is called Walk of Shame, with Elizabeth Banks. That’ll be coming out soon, I think in the next month or two. And then another movie that we shot in South Africa with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler and that’s called Blended. That’ll be out Memorial Day.
How many times are they going to fall in love?
Well it’s like Hepburn and Tracy. It’s an ongoing thing. They do have good chemistry together, those two. They’ve had success in the past so I kind of get it.
What do you do when you’re not making people laugh?
I like to spend a lot of time with my kid. We go to the park, we play basketball, we play ball tag, we ride bikes, all that kid stuff. I like to watch some TV shows; I’m trying to catch up on some TV shows. I like going to movies, I like to golf once in a while. I like to play the banjo and the guitar. I like to draw, I like to sketch people. Usually when I’m flying I’ll sketch someone that’s sleeping across the row from me.
That’s not too creepy.
Yeah, they don’t move a lot. Until they wake up, and then I pin it to the back of the chair in front of them.
I have to know: when was the last time that you were feelin’ the flow and did the bull dance?
Well, you know, my wife kind of chides me because I don’t really seem to get excited about things; I’m kind of reserved, I don’t let my excitement show. But I think I probably did the bull dance when my kid was born seven years ago, and possibly when he got into this school we were trying to get him into.
Those sound like appropriate milestones, definitely bull dance-worthy.
Yeah, I’m hoping for another bull dance coming up soon. I’m not sure what it’ll be but I’m hopeful.
That should just be the American Dream: an opportunity and reason to do the bull dance.
I’m just trying to be more demonstrative with my emotions, just be more excited for her. Like, if she gives me some bad news, I kind of have to make sure I don’t go overboard so it looks phony. I’m the kind of guy who will always match the enthusiasm of the person who comes up to me. Like if someone comes up to me and says [monotone] “Hey, Kevin, how are you?” I’ll say “hey, man, how are you?” But if someone comes up and they go “Hey Kevin! We love you!” I’ll say “I love you too, man!” it’s kind of annoying, I’m sure.
OK, Kevin, I don’t really have anything else for you, I wanted to thank you for taking some time to chat with me, I look forward to seeing you in town.
Can I tell you what I’ve got coming up right here?
Absolutely, go for it.
I just pulled a blue card off of my desk here. It’s a reminder that it’s time to schedule my booster shot. It’s my hepatitis A-B vaccine. It’s my third one, and final.
You been hanging out with Motley Crue and Pam Anderson?
No, but they all live out here. You know, once I get this completed? That might call for a bull dance.
Oh, there you go!
Yeah. It was good talking to you, and if you haven’t gotten your vaccine yet, get out there and get it.